The present invention relates to a device for exchanging data between a plurality of rail-supported movable automatic manipulating units for operating a plurality of textile machines with multiple workstations and a common central unit, whereby the supply of electrical drive power to the automatic manipulating units is reached via a lead system comprising a plurality of rail-supported leads and via sliding contacts that are movable with the automatic manipulating units.
It is known to perform operating steps at a plurality of, for example, adjacently arranged textile machines with multiple workstations via automatic manipulating units that are movable on a rail system whereby their traveling path extends along the longitudinal sides of the textile machines and may be a closed circuit so that the automatic manipulating units can advance to the respective textile machines at which respective operating steps must be performed. Especially when a plurality of such automatic manipulating units are movable along one common traveling path, it is necessary to exchange data between the automatic manipulating units and a central unit which is, for example, stationary. This is necessary in order to ensure that the correct automatic manipulating unit is present at the right time at the right location in order to perform the required operating steps. It is furthermore important in this context that during their travel and operating steps the automatic manipulating units do not interfere with one another so that altogether an optimal course of operating functions may be realized. For this purpose, an undisturbed data exchange is especially important.
A transport and manipulating system for textile machines with multiple workstations of the aforementioned kind is, for example, described in the European Offenlegungschrift EP 0 384 978 A2.
In this known system, the automatic manipulating units travel along a rail system which is meander-like arranged between parallel positioned textile machines with multiple workstations. The automatic handling units are suspended from rails which are in the form of an I-beam structure. The supply of electrical drive power to the automatic manipulating units is realized via a lead system that is arranged at the vertical stay of the I-beam and which comprises a plurality of leads. The automatic manipulating units are provided with sliding contacts which rest on the leads and via which the drive power is supplied to the drive units of the automatic manipulating units.
It is known to perform the data exchange for movable automatic manipulating units connected to a rail system via leads of the lead system that supplies the electrical drive power. In such transmitting systems the data must be transmitted with a certain carrier frequency which is provided to the lead system as the energy transmitting means. Such devices are relatively complicated and cannot guarantee a disturbance-free data exchange due to the interference possibilities of external disturbances and the contacting difficulties between the leads and the sliding contacts as well as the spark generation at the point of contact.
The connection of the automatic manipulating units to a central unit via a trailing cable or similar means cannot be realized because of the complexity of the rail system and because of the possible great number of automatic manipulating units.
It is furthermore possible to perform the data exchange between the automatic manipulating units and the central unit via a wireless carrier frequency radio system. However, such systems are rather complicated and do not operate entirely reliable. Radio transmission systems are especially susceptible to disturbances from other wirelessly controlled devices which may result in transmitting flows with severe consequences.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device of the aforementioned kind which is suitable for the embodiment of a carrier frequency-free information system and which provides with a limited technical expenditure an essentially disturbance-free data exchange.